Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science, Vol.12, no.1, July 2007:1-22

A GLOBAL SEARCH FOR UNIVERSAL MODELS OF EDUCATION

AND TRAINING IN ELECTRONIC RECORDS MANAGEMENT

Rusnah Johare Faculty of Information Management,

University Technology MARA (UiTM),

No.1, Jalan Pulau Angsa A U10/A, Seksyen U10, 40150 Shah Alam,

Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

E-mail: r.johare@yahoo.com; rusnahj@salam.uitm.edu.my

ABSTRACT

In developed countries, education and training for records practitioners and other key

players on electronic records management (ERM) are provided by the universities,

professional organisations, private consultants and individual archival institutions, or

through collaboration between the various organisations. However, evidence from the

review of literature suggests that in many countries especially those in Asia, the present

situation is characterised by a lack of local expertise, experience and facilities. As a

result, records practitioners are sent to developed countries to acquire knowledge and

skills on ERM, or foreign experts are brought in to conduct in-service training for

government record keepers. According to the literature, these issues have already been

addressed in the UK and Europe where education and training programmes on ERM

have been developed to provide the key players with the required knowledge and skills.

Pursuance to this development, an international survey was conducted to identify

universal models of education and training programmes in ERM. This article reports

and discusses the findings of the survey questionnaire of the national archival institutions

and related professional associations world wide for administrators, archivists,

information managers, IT specialists and records managers.

Keywords: Electronic records management; Education and training; National archival

institutions; Professional associations; Record keepers; Record-keeping

INTRODUCTION The complexity of Electronic Records Management (ERM) as an after effect of

sophisticated information and communication technologies and the diversified needs of

various users add a new dimension to the problem of education and training programmes

and curriculum development. The records and archival institutions, professional

organisations and educators are expected to respond to these changes which affect the

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profession. Records and archival education and training should reflect these changes in

their programmes to produce record professionals capable of providing and maintaining

the services in accordance with the required records management and archival standards

and practices.

The literature on the worldwide approaches to education and training in records

management reveals the lack of standardised course syllabi in universities worldwide.

Most existing records and information management courses and programmes are found in

colleges of business and in schools of library and information sciences. Many of these

programmes provide practical internship experiences in addition to classroom instruction.

Increasingly, courses are becoming available on an international basis via the World

Wide Web, offered by universities around the world.

The only comprehensive survey on education and training on records and archives is the

International Council on Archives’ (ICA) survey. Even though only 65 institutions from

23 countries worldwide responded to the survey, the work reveals the latest situation

pertaining to education and training on records and archives inclusive of electronic

records. The ICA survey findings as explained in the following section have been

published in the Directory of Archival Education and Training Institution

(http://www.ica-sae.org).

EDUCATION AND TRAINING ON ERM IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES Academic institutions of higher learning have played a significant role in delivering

educational and training programmes on ERM in developed countries such as Australia,

Canada, Europe, UK and USA. ERM initiatives within the records management

programmes in higher education in these countries have taken a variety of forms:

accredited programmes, flexible modular programmes and distance learning; as well as

traditional face to face classroom teaching form the common mode of delivery.

In Australia, education and training on ERM is provided by Curtin University of

Technology, Edith Cowan University, Monash University and University of New South

Wales within their existing records and information management courses. Education and

training programmes on ERM was established on a strong foundation. As a result,

records staff now act as consultants, educators and advisors and assist agencies to fulfil

their record-keeping roles and responsibilities in the era of electronic government (EG),

public accountability, freedom of information and knowledge-based organisations aimed

at supporting ISO 15489.

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In Canada records management courses have evolved with great energy, enthusiasm and

creativity, in line with the dynamism of dealing with electronic records. Other than

embarking on the harmonisation of education and training in records management,

librarianship and information sciences as part of the philosophy which characterises the

records management education and training in Canada, the development of research into

ERM is another significant component of the philosophy behind the programmes offered

by the various universities. The InterPARES project based in the University of British

Columbia (UBC) brings together archivists from universities and archival institutions,

along with computer and information scientists and engineers from around the world in a

concerted effort to define the archival requirements for authenticity on the basis of

archival science and diplomatics. Other than integrating the research findings into

existing curricular frameworks, researchers of the project developed and pilot-tested

continuing education and training products such as workshops, distance education

courses, annotated bibliographies, glossaries, and also case studies on ERM that were

made available for use by academic programmes and professional associations and

institutions in their continuing education programmes. Issues on electronic records have

also led to the introduction of specific modules on ERM at the University of Montreal

and University of Toronto.

In the UK, ERM subjects are incorporated within accredited courses on archives at the

University of London (UCL), Liverpool University (LU) and University of Wales

(UWA) for their certificate, diploma, Masters and other postgraduate programmes. By

comparison, Northumbria University (NU) has remained the first and to date the only UK

school to teach records management from the perspective of information rather than

archives management. It has thereby developed strong areas of concentration and

specialisation on ERM in their MSc (Records Management) by Distance Learning and

Advanced Diploma in Records Management by Lifelong Learning. The subjects focus on

organisational record-keeping as practised in different situations, with electronic record-

keeping constituting the core knowledge on ERM. The subjects seek to deliver

knowledge and understanding required by those intending to be employed or already in

employment as records managers and to do it in a manner that, where possible,

corresponds to the electronic environment.

NU, with LU and the UK National Archives, have also established the rm3 programme, a

flexible and modular Diploma and Certificate in Professional Studies: Records and

Information Management which include modules on ERM. This partnership offers a

unique collaboration and the first of its kind in the UK and provides an educational

opportunity for the various record keepers across government to develop their records

management expertise and to acquire a university accredited qualification. In addition,

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NU has also developed a joint programme with Association for Information and Image

Management (AIIM) - Information Management University (IMU) - to provide training

on ERM for different types of clients in the UK

(http://www.aiim.org.uk/imu/imuniversity.asp-18). The serious initiatives have put NU

at the forefront of ERM educational and training development.

NU has also designed and developed records management education and training

programmes for different levels of staff in other organisations. This includes operational

administrative staff to strategic managers, in Irish universities and the British

Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), records professionals on the MSc Records

Management (by distance learning), all practitioners at either tactical or management

level, and a combination of three key stakeholders groups i.e. IT, administration and

archives and records management in the European Leonardo funded project, e-TERM

(Education and Training in Electronic Records Management). These programmes have

used different pedagogic models including face to face workshops, directed study,

distance learning and the use of e-learning environment (Hare, Johare and McLeod,

2004).

There are also several other examples of education and training providers on ERM in

Europe. In contrast with the development in other parts of Europe, the present education

programmes in universities in Bulgaria such as Sofia University and South Western

University offer ERM subjects as part of archives and records management courses in

their diploma, degree and PhD in History. On the other hand, the Bavarian Archives

School and the Marburg Archives School in Germany are offering courses for the various

civil service career levels of staff employed by the archives administration inclusive of

subjects on ERM in their diploma and degree courses on archival science. The structures

of the programmes have been developed in cooperation with professional archival

organisations. Similarly, the Mid Sweden University and University of Tampere in

Finland have also developed programmes specialising in records management, but with

concentration on electronic record-keeping in modern organisations.

In the USA, only two universities offering courses on electronic record-keeping and

digital preservation responded to the ICA survey. In this case both the University of

Michigan and University of California offered ERM as separate modules. The Schools of

Information in the respective universities offer an integrated, multidisciplinary degree

(MSc in Information) with an optional specialisation on ERM. Distinguishing features of

their programmes include emphasis on modern records and modern technology inclusive

of electronic record-keeping, digitization, and on-line access systems.

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Other than academic courses provided by the various universities, there are also training

courses provided by the universities and other organisations to provide competence and

skills for the record keepers to manage electronic records as part of their professional

development. The various universities in Australia, Canada, Europe, UK and USA run

regular training courses on ERM for their existing government record keepers. For

example, UCL in the UK runs a summer school and short courses in archives and records

management inclusive of specific topics on ERM to meet the needs of a variety of clients

and in response to major developments, for example, the impact of new legislation such

as the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and the development of ISO 15489 (Hare,

Johare and McLeod, 2004).

Early records managers and archivists in the national archives received on-the-job

training to learn how to set up records programmes for the government. This has also

largely remained true for current records management professionals in the national

archives and in many state archives. In a number of countries, archival institutions

organise their own education and training programmes for the benefit not only of

archivists and records managers, but also of civil servants in general for whom

knowledge in this area is of vital importance in ensuring an orderly and efficient office

administration.

Apart from the universities and archival institutions, professional bodies such as the

Society of Archivists and other professional organisations of record managers, have also

developed training opportunities on ERM in the various countries. For example, in the

UK, the Society of Archivists and the Archive-Skills Consultancy deliver in-service

training to people working as records practitioners at all levels without formal

qualifications (www.archives.org.uk).Training specialisation features include managing

digital records and electronic record-keeping.

In the USA and Canada, the central records management association, ARMA, has also

been active in promoting education and training on ERM as part of records management

programmes. ARMA with over 10,000 members and over 100 local chapters is active in

promoting educational efforts through conferences, workshops, and continuing education

programmes (www.arma.org). As reported by Bennett (1999), excellent opportunities

were also provided by related organisations such as the Association of Information and

Image Management (AIIM), the Society of American Archivists (SAA), the American

Society for Information Sciences (ASIS), the Nuclear Information and Records

Management Association (NIRMA), the National Association of Government Archivists

and Records Administrators (NAGARA), and the American Health Information

Management Association (AHIMA).

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EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF RECORD KEEPERS IN ASIA In many Asian countries, including Southeast Asia, education and training provided by

the various universities are characterised by the traditional focus on archival management

with emphasis on conventional records management. According to the response received

by the ICA, only four out of the 23 institutions in China offering records and archives

programmes also offer subjects on ERM. They are Zhejiang University, Beijing Union

University, Soochow University and the Zhengzhou Institute of Aeronautical Industry

Management. These four universities offer subjects on electronic record-keeping through

their school of archives, library and information science. By comparison none of the

archival schools in Japan namely the National Institute of Japanese Literature and the

National Archives are offering ERM subjects. This is due to the fact that their area of

specialisation limits their role to the management of historical manuscripts.

There is little evidence of concern for education and training of record keepers in

managing electronic records in India. Even though the National Archives of India has

been providing education and training for archivists from within and outside the country

since 1943, the curriculum content remains traditional in approach due to the lack of

local expertise and facilities to deliver education and training programmes on ERM

(www.nationalarchives.nic.in/diploma.html)

There are several universities in Indonesia providing instructions in records and archives,

such as the University of Indonesia in Jakarta, University of Deponegoro in Semarang

and University of Hassanuddin in Ujung Pandang (www.ui.ac.id, www.fib.ui.ac.id,

www.deponegoro.ac.id). In addition, the National Archives of Indonesia runs in-service

training for government records managers and archivists. However, the existing

educational programmes are limited to diploma courses in archival management

emphasising conventional records management. Apart from the local education and

training programmes, it is a current practice to send experienced archivists abroad for

advanced training in specialised areas such as ERM and the preservation of information

(www.arkib.gov.my/sarbica). They are being sent to countries like Australia, Canada, the

USA and the Netherlands. The aim is to train specialists and also to improve the local

education and training programmes on ERM (www.indosat.net.id)

In other Southeast Asian countries such as Burma, Brunei, the Philippines, Thailand, and

Vietnam, education and training programmes in the area under study are mainly for

archivists in general. The literature reveals that there are no organised and formal

training programmes on ERM for archivists. Training has been sporadic and irregular,

mostly in the form of on-the-job training (www.arkib.gov.my/sarbica). Some members

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of the archives staff were sent to the National Archives of Australia, Canada, UK and the

USA (NARA), for short courses and attachment on ERM.

In Singapore, the Nanyang Technological University has developed a postgraduate

programme on information management emphasising ERM at the Masters level in the

School of Communication and Information (www.ntu.edu.sg). The MSc (Information

Studies) programme offered by the University for both part-time and full-time students

aims at training graduates in any discipline into a new breed of information services and

systems professionals who are able to develop and deliver value-added information

products and services in all types of information environment. The course is

interdisciplinary and draws upon the fields of library and information science,

information management and computer technology. The broad range of subjects offered

ensures ample opportunities for students to tailor the curriculum to suit their particular

requirements or to specialise in one of five areas of concentration namely, Library and

Information Science, Archival Informatics, School Media Resource Management,

Information Management and Information Systems. Although there is no clear mention

of record management, it is obvious that records managers might need to adopt the

overall skills to their particular requirements (www.ntu.edu.sg/sci/is).

EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF RECORD KEEPERS IN MALAYSIA In Malaysia records and archives education and training is being provided by the Faculty

of Information Management of the Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), the only

institute of higher learning in the country offering such academic programme. The

Faculty has undergone changes from time to time in tandem with employment prospects

of the country. Currently, the records and archives courses are aimed at preparing

information managers who are needed to advance both the country's information policies

in relation to IT, as well as the electronic government (EG). ERM is being offered as a

separate module in the diploma, degree and Masters programmes as qualified records and

information managers are required for the successful implementation of the EG.

However, the faculty is experiencing lack of experienced academic staff to deliver ERM

subjects, and lack of facilities prevents the development of research initiatives in this area

of concern (Johare, 2006).

The National Archives of Malaysia has remained the only provider of records and

archival training for the government records practitioners including those from the third

world countries in Africa and Southeast Asia. However, existing training programmes

provided by the National Archives, as in other Southeast Asian countries are limited to

the management and the preservation of conventional records. Due to the lack of local

expertise, experience and facilities to run courses on ERM, government archivists and

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records managers currently are sent abroad to acquire education and training on ERM

(McDonald, 2003). Foreign experts on ERM were also brought in to deliver and conduct

in-service training such as workshops, seminars and conferences by the National

Archives as part of the e-SPARK project. One of the project’s aim and objective is to

develop guidelines for the training of records managers and archivists

(www.arkib.gov.my).

Literature reveals that at present the Malaysian record keepers in the Administrative and

Diplomatic Services (ADS), Administrative and Support Services (ASS), Social Services

(SS) (including the archivists and records managers) and Information System Services

(ISS) receive their in-service education and training at the National Institute of Public

Administration (INTAN) (www.windowstomalaysia.com.my/gov/31_1_2.htm). This

variety of education and training indicates that the ADS, ASS, SS and the ISS do not

receive any education and training on records management although training for the ISS

do cover information and knowledge management.

Other professional organisations, namely, the Malaysian Institute of Management and the

Library Association of Malaysia have also initiated programmes that require the use of

foreign expertise in providing training on ERM for their respective members

(www.mim.edu, www.pnm.my/ppm). This situation implies that there is awareness of the

need for education and training among record practitioners expected to assist the

government to realise the EG initiative.

In Malaysia, this matter has to be given serious attention, as archivists and records

practitioners have to be equal to the responsibilities arising from the implementation of

EG. At the same time, records created by the legacy systems are still not addressed. The

question is whether the education and training that the professional archivists at the

National Archives of Malaysia have so far acquired is adequate to meet the challenges.

Johare (2006) in her study to assess the state of knowledge and skills of the staff across

the public sector and the National Archives of Malaysia pertaining to ERM found that

“the staff in the agencies and in the National Archives have yet to acquire the knowledge,

skills and abilities required to undertake the job”. The survey also found that “the

awareness and understanding of the importance of electronic records among public

servants is lacking thus hindering efforts to promulgate ERM strategies”. Thus education

and training programmes must be designed and reached out to the existing record keepers

in the Malaysian government. However, before designing education and training

programme for the Malaysian record keepers, research needs to be undertaken firstly to

identify international pragmatic examples of education and training in ERM. The

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concepts which underpinned these pragmatic examples can be used in developing a

suitable education and training programmes for the Malaysian record keepers.

SURVEY OF NATIONAL ARCHIVAL INSTITUTIONS AND RELATED

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

Methodology

The national governments of national archival institutions were chosen as the respondents

due to the fact that these national central agencies performed organisational, legal,

regulatory, professional and other requirements that apply to the management of any

public records inclusive of electronic records created by the government agencies in their

respective countries. These organisational functions include that of providing guidelines

such as education and training for the government staff to manage the nation’s records.

The professional organisations of administrators, records, archives, information

management and information technology were chosen as respondents because they are

closely associated with the professional development of their respective members, the

record keepers defined in this study. In this context the education and training in

managing electronic records was thought to be provided by the professional organisations

for their respective members.

(a) Sampling of the Surveyed Organisations In these two surveys the researcher used purposive sampling because it is impossible for

the researcher to include in the survey; all the national archives and professional

organisations in more than 190 nations in the world due to time constraint and cost

incurred. To accommodate the naturalistic strategy, purposive samples, occasionally

refereed to as judgment samples according to Lincoln and Guba (1997) was appropriate.

The sampling units for both organisations were selected subjectively by the researcher, in

an attempt to obtain a sample that appears to be representative of the population. The

chance that a particular national archive and the professional organisations of

administrators, records, archives, information management and information technology

selected for the sample was dependent on the subjective judgment of the researcher, and

in this case it was heavily referred to the literature review.

Based on the existing literature, the target organisations of the national governments

consisted of the national archival organisations and the prominent state archives and that

of professional organisations of administrators, records, archives, information

managements and information technology in Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand,

UK and USA. Based on the suggestion by Patton (2002), the sampling method used on

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the selection of the national archival institutions and professional organisations was based

on purposive sampling. Both organisations in Australia, Canada, Europe, UK and USA as

suggested in the literature review were purposively chosen as sampling for several

reasons. Firstly with regards to electronic records management, the literature suggests

that the work carried out by the aforementioned organisations has been substantial in the

past one decade. Secondly, they are the leading advocates for developing, establishing

and providing authoritative guidance on all aspects of ERM. Thirdly, the organisations

are all leading advocates from different countries around the world, thereby offering a

wider perspective of ERM. Finally, while similar organisations of many countries

produced many policies and guidelines regarding the management of electronic records,

those of the sampling countries addressed the whole functionality of ERM systems. Thus

the aim of the purposive sample used is based on informational consideration rather than

statistical considerations. Its purpose is to maximise information and not to facilitate

generalisation as explained by Lincoln and Guba (1997).

(b) Data Gathering and Analysis

A web-based interactive questionnaire was developed for both surveys and the URL

address of the questionnaire was sent through e-mail addresses of the identified

respondents. These are: http://www.geocities.com/rusnahjohare/Survey_Archives.htm

and http://www.geocities.com/rusnahjohare/Survey_Prof.htm.

The qualitative data from the semi-structured questionnaire of open-ended questions for

both surveys relied on the methods advocated by Weitzman et al (1994) who illustrated

the use of software to facilitate analysis of qualitative data. The Non-numerical

Unstructured Data Indexing Searching Theorizing (NUD’IST) version 6 (N6) was used to

handle the unstructured data collected from both surveys. The code-based theory

builder’s software was used to facilitate the analysis process.

The statistical data of both sets of questionnaire mainly took the form of content analysis

and it is not on percentages and averages (means). There was no intention to make

statistical comparisons or cross tabulation of data. They should be regarded as an

indication of individual development rather as a comparative development. This is in line

with the objective and goal of the survey. The replying organisations provided complete

data for standardised close-ended questions and contributing open-ended information

relevant to their individual existing experiences and views on issues under investigation.

Responses to both surveys were tabulated and examined. The open-ended responses

were reviewed and synthesised. Considerable amount of attachment materials were

downloaded, printed out and studied. These materials were used to help interpret the

qualitative data from the open-ended answers.

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FINDINGS

Survey of the National Archival Institutions In the survey of national archival institutions, 59 questions were asked to identify

pragmatic examples, programmes, and the interest in education and training for record

keepers who manage electronic records. The 59 questions yielded a better picture of the

record keepers’ levels of knowledge and skills in ERM, and how they acquired

knowledge and skills to manage electronic records in their respective organisations.

Interactive web-based questionnaire were sent to 24 archival institutions, but only eleven

(46%) responded.

The responses indicated problems in the area of education and training in ERM. The

problems were grouped into five categories: insufficient knowledge and skills in ERM,

lack of coordinated skills training in ERM for the different record keepers, the mismatch

between what is taught and what is needed, lack of clear and consistent policy on

education and training, as well as partners involved in the provision of education and

training. However, these may have changed now.

(a) Insufficient Knowledge and Skills in ERM

A feature of the findings was the frequency with which the surveyed archival institutions

reported that the levels of knowledge and skills among the administrators, archivists, IT

personnel and the records managers were insufficient. The data revealed that the

majority of the respondents (archival institutions) acquired and maintained electronic

records physically; however, the levels of knowledge and skills among the record keepers

were not sufficient to meet the needs of ERM in the respective institutions.

The National Archives of Canada, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, Poland and Sweden,

for example, reported that their record keepers possessed such knowledge of IT as to

allow them to manage electronic records. This was however thought to be rather limited

as reported by the National Archives of Canada, “they received knowledge of IT on

specific applications and not specifically on the principles and technical aspects of

electronic record-keeping”. On the other hand, the Ontario State Archives reported that

“our record keepers received just-in-time training on record-keeping technology from the

vendors of the corporate record-keeping systems”. The rest of the surveyed archival

institutions (National Archives of Netherlands; UK National Archives; as well as the

New York and Ontario State Archives; and the Archives in Ireland) indicated that their

record keepers lacked both knowledge and skills necessary for the management of

electronic records. For instance, the UK National Archives specifically reported that,

“those in charge of electronic records currently lack knowledge and skills in the

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principles of ERM, in particular electronic file plans and sustainability of electronic

records”. The National Archives of Ireland noted that “knowledge and skills of those

concerned are lacking because of the absence of coherent policy on ERM in

government”. On the other hand, the New York Sate Archives indicated that, “most

archivists and records managers have only enough knowledge to run their systems and

they do not usually have skills in developing needs assessments, improving systems etc.”

This was also true in the case of the public services in Ontario and Poland. The Ontario

States Archives revealed that there was a wide variance in IT-related knowledge of

record keepers in the Ontario public service, “where records are generally recognised as

vital in some ways, for example land titles, those in charge normally possess knowledge

of IT to manage these types of records”. Similarly in Poland those record keepers in

charge of the national database of births, marriages and deaths normally possessed

adequate knowledge of IT to manage their respective database.

Another factor contributing to the record keepers’ insufficient knowledge and skills on

ERM as indicated by the Ontario States Archives was that “the body of knowledge

required for those responsible has not been identified and defined responsibilities were

not assigned. The UK National Archives suggested that “education and training on

electronic records are fragmented and curricula vary widely between countries and within

countries”.

In the majority of cases, shared responsibility among the different record keepers was not

evident as the different record keepers’ knowledge and skills were still restricted to their

core roles and responsibilities. According to the National Archives of Sweden, “the

archivists are concerned with the preservation and theoretical aspects of archives”. The

National Archives of Poland reported that, “the administrators normally deal with

management issues and programmes delivery”. The Netherlands Archives opined that

the administrators “are more concerned with business process design rather than issues

relating to electronic records”. This was further supported by a statement of the National

Archives of Finland to the effect that “the administrators deal with organisational

procedures and IT personnel are involved in active information and management of the

systems”.

(b) Lack of Coordinated Skills Training in ERM Among the Different Record

Keepers

A majority of the surveyed archival institutions (seven of them) reported that emphasis

was given to the training of archivists in IT and computer courses, in preference to

training the different record keepers specifically in ERM. This was evident in the

Education and Training in Electronic Records Management

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response of Finland where the training programmes for archivists were provided by the

systems vendors. In Poland, the newly appointed archivists were trained by the

experienced archivists. The National Archives in Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and

Sweden as well the New York State Archives reported that training programmes for

archival staff in the area of IT and computers were available in the form of short courses,

seminars, conferences, and workshops and were provided occasionally by archival

schools, system vendors and IT consultants.

By comparison, only the National Archives in Canada, Netherlands and UK, as well as

the Ontario State Archives have developed new training opportunities in ERM for the

different record keepers. The Netherlands National Archives provided training not only

for the new staff and archivists but also for the IT personnel. However, the different

record keepers received their training in different places. The archivists received theirs in

the archival schools, while the IT personnel were trained on digital preservation by

commercial trainers. Only the new staff and archivists were given training in ERM at the

Ontario State Archives. The new staff training “entails organisational approaches and

procedures on ERM, whereas the archivists were given training in the application of

technology related concepts to specialised areas such as data warehouse and Geographic

Information Systems”. By comparison the UK National Archives was more focused on

the provision of skills training for the senior staff, records managers and IT personnel

provided by the ERM Unit and on occasions by outside consultants. Training was

concerned “with hands-on use of a pilot ERM system in a workshop environment”.

Of those archival institutions which provided training in ERM, only the National

Archives of Canada developed new training initiatives for the different record keepers.

As reported, “new training programmes on ERM were developed for the new staff, senior

staff, records managers, archivists, administrators and IT personnel provided by internal

staff, mentors, consultants and vendors as appropriate”. The training entailed on-the-job

coaching and monitoring on electronic record-keeping. But the data did not suggest that

the different record keepers learned ERM under common training programmes.

(c) The Training Content Did Not Match the Needs The majority of archival institutions surveyed revealed their concerns over the content of

training programmes which were considered either inadequate or in need of

improvement. The data indicated that in many instances, the training content was said to

have sidelined the practical aspects of ERM. It was considered too conceptual and

theoretical. According to the National Archives of Poland, “the training content was

more on theory and concepts rather then transferring skills”. The National Archives of

New Zealand stated, “short courses and seminars are mainly organised to deliver

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concepts”. The New York State Archives believed that “most of records managers and

archivists trained in the universities and in their own agencies get little specific training in

electronic records subjects”. The National Archives of Norway admitted, “IT personnel

in our department were given higher training in computer sciences.” In the majority of

cases, the curriculum for the training of archivists and records managers concentrated

mostly on IT subjects and computer systems and not specifically on ERM subjects. This

is borne out by the National Archives of Poland which said that they had organised 54 IT

and computer courses for the archivists. In the case of the National Archives of Ireland,

New Zealand, Norway and Sweden, archival staff was given workshops and short courses

in IT by system vendors and IT consultants.

It is evident that although the majority of the archival institutions have increased the

number of training to meet the ERM requirements, training providers found it difficult to

keep up with the curricula. This was expressed by the National Archives of Sweden: “it

is difficult to keep up with the perfect curriculum as this field is still emerging and

changing rapidly”. The National Archives of Canada, New York State Archives, Ontario

State Archives, National Archives of Netherlands, UK National Archives and the

National Archives of Sweden proposed that the technical aspects of ERM should be

incorporated into the training curriculum. This would include the development and

implementation of records/documents management applications, complete with robust

file classification schemes and monitored implementation of retention requirements for

the long-term preservation of electronic records. The National Archives of Poland

recommended the, “adoption of the Canadian Competencies Profile Standards and ISO

15489 as the core of a serious ERM training”.

(d) Lack of Clear and Consistently Applied Policy on ERM Education and Training

Data indicates that generally the archival institutions that responded to the survey did not

have a clear and consistently applied policy with regard to education and training in the

area of ERM. Instead the data suggested that the majority of the surveyed archival

institutions issued regulations and guidelines to facilitate ERM. As stated by the National

Archives of Norway, “there is no specific policy on education and training in ERM, but

for those wishing to work as records managers and archivists in the government must

follow a training course provided by the Norway Archives Academy”. On the other hand

the Ontario State Archives policy contained general matters on the provision of efficient

training on recorded information. In the UK, general policy issues on education and

training on ERM were based on the EG policy framework which emphasised the roles of

the National Archives in helping departments with advice and guidance on ERM. As

reported by the UK National Archives, “we came out with practical toolkits containing

guidance on how to produce a corporate policy on electronic records; compile an

Education and Training in Electronic Records Management

15

inventory of electronic records collection; appraise the inventory, to manage electronic

records documents using Window NT on local area network, framework strategic

planning and implementation, sustainable electronic records, strategies for the

maintenance and preservation, and the management of electronic records on websites and

intranets”. Other then providing guidelines on the disposition of electronic records, the

National Archives of Canada has “developed the Record-keeping Competencies Profiles

for government employees and guidelines for government departments for the provision

of knowledge and skills in ERM”. The rest of the archival institutions in Ireland, Poland,

New Zealand, Sweden, the Netherlands as well as the United States (New York State

Archives) reported that they did not have any policy for education and training of record

keepers in their government.

(e) Partnership in the Provision for Education and Training Six of the eleven archival institutions that were surveyed were involved in supporting

tertiary educational programmes at the university level for record keepers responsible for

the management of electronic records. There was cooperation between the National

Archives of Netherlands and the Netherlands Archiefschool in developing a training

course in ERM since 1997 for senior records managers and archivists working in

government and private organisations, as well as in archives. The course, which started

in 1997, was a five day seminar. The data revealed that more than 300 students had

pursued the course. It had been evaluated and some adaptations were made following

students’ and teachers’ reactions and suggestions. In Finland the data suggested that “the

National Archives Services has worked with the University of Tampere whose

Department of Information Studies provides training in ERM through the e-Term

project”. The New York State Archives provided training in support of the universities’

tertiary education through a variety of routes. It has been “supporting the development of

records management certificate programmes in four community colleges across the state,

but no particular model or programme has been developed specifically for the different

record keepers as yet”. On the other hand, the Ontario State Archives provided

placement for the practicum component of archival programmes at the graduate level. It

was stated that, “the Archives also recruits heavily among graduates of such

programmes”. In the UK, the National Archives has developed a partnership with two

leading records management educators in the UK, namely the University of Liverpool

and Northumbria in providing education and training not specifically on ERM but on

information and records management through the rm3 programme. According to the

response received, “this partnership offers a uniquely complementary set of records

management experience and skills”. It has developed a new training and education

programme in records and information management for the benefit of government staff

working with records.

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Eight of the 11 archival institutions surveyed indicated that they collaborated with

existing professional organisations in providing training for the record keepers. For

example, the National Archives of Canada worked with the Canadian Association of

Archivists and ARMA. The UK National Archives has professional relationship with the

Society of Archivists of Great Britain, the Records Management Society of Great Britain,

as well as the Association of Commonwealth Archivists and Records Managers

(ACARM). None of the respondents had a professional relationship with any of the

professional associations involving administration, information management or

information technology specifically on education and training of record keepers in

managing electronic records.

SURVEY OF PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS Professional associations responded to 27 questions. The selected sample of

professional associations was required to identify various associations that existed in the

respective areas of archives management, records management, public administration,

information management and information technology in relation to their role in providing

education and training for record keepers in managing electronic records. The sampling

strategy adopted for this survey involved sending questionnaires to 20 professional

associations for archivists (of which only eight participated); seven professional records

associations (of which five participated); 28 associations related to information

management (of which nine participated); 16 associations in the field of IT (of which

only five participated); and 26 associations involved with public administration (of which

only four participated). The countries represented in the survey included Australia,

Canada, Europe, UK and USA.

The analysis of results of the survey may be grouped into three themes: limited

involvement of professional associations in providing education in ERM; lack of joint

effort in providing education and training in the area concerned; and lack of practical

training in ERM.

Limited Involvement of Professional Associations in ERM Education and Training Among the 31 professional associations surveyed, only seven indicated that they were

involved in providing training in ERM. They were three archives associations, three

associations of records management and one association of administrators. The

professional associations in the area of records and archives were involved in the training

of only the record practitioners and administrators. Surprisingly, the American

Association of Administrators was involved in providing education and training for the

different record keepers defined in this study, although the training was specifically on

Education and Training in Electronic Records Management

17

“the overall management of law firm business process”. The respondent reported that,

“many of our trainers may belong to the ARMA”. Subjects delivered included that of

“knowledge management and the various strategies for the retention of records in both

electronic and paper formats”.

The three associations of archivists; and the three records management associations were

considerably active in providing training. As reported by the Records Management

Association of Canada, “we have monthly programme meetings with guest speakers

including policy makers, product vendors, subject experts and frontline personnel, and a

one day seminar with guest speakers from information management and records

management areas”. Subjects include best business practices, impact of IT on records

programmes; information disposition; as well as current and new government policies

and legislation that have a bearing on records and information management. On the

intended target group for training, the association explained that the organization “caters

strictly to the records and information management community of the Federal

Government of Canada” and that “all training, guidance and information provided to our

membership must be relevant to the Federal Government’s policies, procedures and

legislation”. On the other hand, the Records Management Group in UK has provided

ERM training to records practitioners, but admitted that, “in the past training has been of

a general nature to raise awareness of the issues involved”. By comparison, the

Australian Society of Archivists reported that it had organised one seminar so far, related

to the record-keeping aspects of web sites. The Records Management Association of

Australia provided practical training on all aspects of managing electronic records

including designing and implementing record-keeping among the records, archives and

information management community through seminars and short courses.

Of the seven associations surveyed, all of them admitted that there was lack of a unified

training programme specially designed for the record keepers. Indeed, training was

provided mainly on requests. This was because the associations had no specific policies

on education and training on ERM. However, the Society of Archivists in UK cited their

general policy in terms of promoting the care and preservation of archives, and in terms

of advancing the training of members with regard to all types of records. By comparison

the Association of Administrators has a policy on accredited graduate programmes in the

area of public administration. The policy guidelines call for training in IT. The UK

Records Management Society responded to the question by indicating that it adopted EG

policy framework, and therefore, its training aims and objectives were tailored to support

the EG policy. When asked whether the associations surveyed produced or published any

guides for record keepers in the area of ERM, surprisingly it was found that the majority

Johare, R

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did not produce guidelines, which were expected to be issued by the central government

agencies.

The response to the question on standards or benchmark on ERM education and training

was significantly very low. It was not surprising that only the Association of Records

Managers from Canada and UK responded to the question. The Canadian Association of

Records Managers reported on the Core Competencies Profiles Standards developed by

the National Archives of Canada (and adopted by the Treasury Board of Canada), as well

as on the policy and position papers by the National Archives of Canada. The UK

Records Management Society referred to the Standard for the management of public

records developed by the UK National Archives in 1999.

Lack of Collaborative Effort in Providing ERM Education and Training The data indicated that the majority of the surveyed associations were not involved in

supporting any education and training programmes, either with academic institutions or

existing professional associations in the respective countries. Out of 31 professional

associations surveyed, only two records associations, i.e. from Canada and UK were

involved in supporting the tertiary records management programmes organised by

universities in their respective countries. As the former reported, “we provide

advertisement of records management courses and we encouraged our members to take

part”. The members of the records association in UK often participated in the training

programmes organised by LU, NU, Aberystwyth University and UCL.

Six professional associations (one association of administrators, two associations of

archivists and three associations of records management) reported collaborating with

other existing professional associations. The association of administrators worked in

collaboration with ARMA. ARMA provided the association with guest speakers for the

seminars and workshops. The two associations of archivists established links with

records management associations from their respective countries to coordinate training

programmes and avoid duplication of efforts. Two records management associations in

Canada indicated that they worked with ARMA, Data Processing Institute, Canadian

Libraries Associations and the Association of Canadian Archivists. One of the

associations justified such collaboration by saying that “records management, library

management and archival activities are all part of information management”. The

Australian Society of Archivists reported that it worked with the Records Management of

Australia to deliver training activities.

Responses to question on partnership with archival institutions were not encouraging

either. The findings revealed that only one society of archivists and one records

Education and Training in Electronic Records Management

19

association from UK and two records association from Canada were involved. The

former explained, “Society of Archivists (SoA) has key contacts within the UK National

Archives in providing a two way flow of information. This allows events to be

coordinated.” One association of records management in Canada has established close

relationship with the National Archives of Canada and the Treasury Board as these

institutions were charged with developing and administering information management

policies, procedures, guidelines and best business practices for the federal government.

The association provided information on upcoming events and policies to the community.

Another association indicated that, “we have the support of the National Archives of

Canada which allows staff times to manage the professional organization. It also makes

available facilities such as meeting places and supplies”.

It appears logical to expect that those national archives which have been most active in

developing standards such as the National Archives of Canada and the UK National

Archives tend to be well integrated and networked with other agencies both local and

international, including professional associations.

Lack of Practical Training The majority of the associations surveyed viewed the lack of practical training in ERM as

an issue to be considered when designing and developing training programmes for the

record keepers. One of the respondents indicated that presently training in ERM was still

at the level of raising awareness of the issues with the relevant government bodies.

Another respondent recommended the transition from a theory-based training to practical

training, with increased use of case reports. One society of archivists in UK cited the

society’s views on this matter, “as the majority of SoA members have traditionally been

only involved with paper records and have had only limited exposure to electronic

records, but with an increasing amount of contact with electronic records, more practical

training will be needed”. According to an information management society,

“understanding current best practices for ERM, storage, formats and preservation would

be the single most helpful kind of practical training we could have, but we lack people

with practical skills to deliver the skill”. Yet another stated that, “the key issues for us

are getting staff that have the skills to provide the training – linking technical training

with broad conceptual understanding of policy issues”. In the words of the Records

Management Association of Australia, “a mix of principles and ‘real-life’ examples, such

as government agency case studies is important with hands-on practical, testing and

adapting”. The UK Society of Archivists favoured, “introductory training sessions for

those new to the subject with practical examples/case reports. More advanced training

sessions/master classes/workshops detailing specific areas relating to electronic records

such as metadata requirements”. The association of records from Canada suggested the

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use of ISO 15489 and core competency standards as reference for developing education

and training programmes in ERM.

Another issue that needs to be considered in this study is the provision of professional

qualifications in ERM and the way it should be delivered. It is not surprising that this

idea came mostly from the records and archives associations. One of them expressed,

“the need to have a professional qualification in ERM by offering a mix of face to face

and distance learning; by combining the theory with practical examples”. Another said

that “professional qualification validated by professional associations is appropriate”. An

association from US opined that, “to make training attractive to the community and

meaningful, a professional qualification programme based on syllabus and measured by

examination needs to be developed”. One US-based records management association

suggested, “Graduate school should teach the basic theory and principles, and

professional organisations can provide continuing/advanced education and networking

opportunities”. Others suggested that general courses could be followed by in-house

workshops, seminars, lectures by policy makers, product vendors and subject experts

which address specific needs of the agency.

CONTENT ANALYSIS FROM BOTH SURVEYS

The content analysis of data from the selected archival institutions and the selected

professional organisations surveyed revealed that a theme consistent with the aims of the

study was emerging. The factual data collected revealed that the selected archival

institutions and the records and archives professional organisations were aware that even

though there were training programmes provided for the record keepers, in the form of

seminars, short courses, and conferences, through archival schools, and on a smaller scale

through consultants, mentors, working groups, and vendors, the record keepers in

question still lacked the requisite skills in ERM, as most of the time the training content

did not match the need. Most of the training programmes delivered in the form of

workshops, seminars, talks and briefings, were still at the awareness level and

emphasised general concepts and theory. In most cases, records practitioners were

trained mainly through IT and computer courses. There was no training in ERM. There

was a lack of coordinated skills training in ERM for the different record keepers, who

were educated and trained separately. There was an absence of clear and consistently

applied policy on education and training in ERM. As a result, in the majority of cases,

there was no concept of shared roles and responsibilities in drawing the different record

keepers together in the pursuit of a common agenda in the area of ERM.

The respondents from both the surveys highlighted the absence of a corpus of knowledge

required by the respective record keepers defined in this survey. Standardised model

Education and Training in Electronic Records Management

21

programmes were lacking. The curricula for both education and training were not

unified, as they were designed and developed based on requests. The data suggests that

the technical aspects of ERM needed to be incorporated into the training curriculum,

which embraced the design, development and implementation of a complete record-

keeping system from creation to preservation. Even though the literature review on this

issue suggested that the international archival communities are addressing the matter

directly and comprehensively, there was not the same level of understanding and

cohesion amongst records managers, administrators and the IT community.

A significant finding of the survey is that professional associations did not collaborate in

providing education and training in ERM. By comparison, academic institutions and

archival institutions were more actively and productively involved in developing specific

education and training programmes. Three pragmatic examples in Europe and UK were

identified through the survey of the national archival institutions- the Dutch FDSC, the e-

TERM and the rm3 programme as the products of collaborative efforts of academic

institutions in the UK and Europe.

Through this survey the selected archival institutions and the records and archives

professional organisations expressed their interest in education and training in electronic

records by suggesting that the core content of a serious training programme should be

based on the ISO 15489 and the Canadian Competency Profile, and lead to a professional

qualification. The data suggests that the technical aspects of ERM should be

incorporated into the training curriculum with the inclusion of a complete record-keeping

systems design, development and implementation from creation to preservation. To

cater for the working staff a mix and match mode of delivery to allow flexibility of

learning was also recommended. However, interest and activities in this area was very

much lacking among the professional associations that were surveyed.

CONCLUSION

This paper is devoted to a discussion of the different types of education and training

programmes available for key players in ERM across selected archival institutions and

professional organisations in Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, the UK and USA.

The data did not reveal the existence of a universal model which embraced the various

groups of record keepers defined in this study. Indeed little had been done in terms of

education and training specifically for ERM, despite the push for EG in many of the

countries surveyed. What exists is merely a combination of in-house, ‘on-the-job’

training programmes combined with specialised courses. With regard to the education

and training required to manage electronic records in government, there was no clear

defined and accepted body of knowledge or an agreed training curriculum, except for the

Johare, R

22

pragmatic examples developed in Europe and UK. They are the e-TERM, the FDSC and

the rm3 programmes. In addition one more programme - IMU in UK was identified by

the latest literature review. An analysis of the pragmatic examples identified through this

survey need to be undertaken in order to provide a basis for the development of a suitable

model of education and training in ERM for the Malaysian record keepers.

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